8.25 The dark path Krishna speaks
धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम्
तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते
dhūmo rātris tathā kṛiṣhṇaḥ ṣhaṇ-māsā dakṣhiṇāyanam
tatra chāndramasaṁ jyotir yogī prāpya nivartate
Smoke, night, the dark fortnight, the six months of the southern course: departing then, one reaches the light of the moon and returns.
Explanation
The dark path, term for term the inverse.
- smoke
- night
- the dark fortnight
- the sun's southern six months
The destination is the moon's light, and then return. Note that this is not described as a punishment. It is the path of those who reach something real and come back from it — which is the same objection the chapter made to Brahma's world at 8.16. The trouble with a good destination is that it ends.
Word by word
- dhūmaḥ
- smoke
- rātriḥ
- night
- tathā
- and
- kṛiṣhṇaḥ
- the dark fortnight of the moon
- ṣhaṭ-māsāḥ
- six months
- dakṣhiṇa-ayanam
- the sun’s southern course
- tatra
- there
- chāndra-masam
- lunar
- jyotiḥ
- light
- yogī
- a yogi
- prāpya
- attain
- nivartate
- comes back
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